Engine.



T. E. NEEDLER.

ENGINE.

APPLICATION FILED mac. 3. 191a.

Patented Dec. 5, 1916.

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ENGINE.

APPLICATION FILED DEC-3.19M.

Patented Dec. 5, 1916.

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ENGINE. APPLICATION FILED DEC. 3, I913- LQUWBU Patented Dec. 5,1916.

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T. E. NEEDLER.

ENGINE. APPLICATION FILED DEC- 3, 1913.

Patented Dec.

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TILLFRED ELMO NEEDLER, OF MOBILE, ALABAMA.

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Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 5, 1916.

Application filed December 3, 1913. Serial No. 804,497.

tically noiseless, the valves being operated.

with a positive movement so as to insure the proper timing of saidvalves in their opening and closing movements.

Another object of the invention is to provide for far greateraccessibility than is present in engines now in use, the construct1onhereinafter described enabhng the car bon to be removed from thecylinders without taking down the engine and without removal of anyparts of the engine excepting only the intake and exhaust manifolds. Thevalves may be removed without disturbing any other part of the engine.Likewise, the crank shaft, piston, connecting rods and the adjacentparts including the bearings may be removed by simply detaching thelower section of the crank case. Furthermore, all operating parts of theengine are inclosed in a tight housing excepting only the magneto andthe cooling fan which is driven by a belt from the crank shaft. Theengine also enables a greater quantity of water to be employed forkeeping the engine cool, the engine as a whole operating with a minimumamount of friction and heat and with a corresponding increase in generalefficiency and power.

With the above and other objects in view, the invention consists in theconstruction, combination and arrangement of parts, as will hereinafterbe more fully described, illustrated and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings -Figure 1 is an end elevation of aninternal combustion engine embodying the" present invention. Fig. 2 is aside elevation of the same. Fig. 3 is a vertical cross section takendiametrically of one of the cylinders. Fig. 4 is a detail verticalsection through one of the valves showing the same open. Fig. 5 is asimilar view showing the inner valve section closed. Fig. 6 is a similarview showing the outer valve section closed. Fig. 7 is a perspectiveview of the outer valve section. Fig, 8 is a similar view of the innervalve section.

The internal combustion engine contemplated in this invention and whichis especially designed for use in aeroplanes, automobiles, motorcycles,boats or as a stationary engine, comprises a crank case embodying anupper section 1 and a lower section 2, said crank case sections beingflanged as shown at 3 and 4t and fastened together by bolts 5 or theequivalent thereof.

The upper crank case section 1 is provided with oppositely extendingsupporting arms or lugs 6 to adapt the engine to be mounted on asuitable supporting base and the lower crank case section 2 is providedwith an inverted crescent shaped oil sump or reservoir Tprovided with anorifice 8 affording communication between said sump and the space inwhich the crank shaft and connecting rods are contained. 1 i

9 designates a crank shaft which is mounted in bearings 10 supportedwithin the upper section 1 of the crank case by means of braces or webs11, each crank shaft bearing embodying a lower detachable cap 12 securedin place by bolts 13 on the lower end of which are removable nuts 1%which provide for detaching the caps 12 in order to remove the crankshaft 9 and the connecting rods and pistons through the bottom of thecrank case when the bottom section 2 thereof is detached.

Mounted on the upper section 1 of the crank case is a plurality ofcylinders 15 water jacketed as at 16 and each containing a reciprocatorypiston 17 provided with the usual piston rings 18.

19 designates the connecting rod interposed between the piston 17 andthe crank shaft 9.

20 designates the combustion and compression chamber in the head 21 ofthe cylinder, the head being bored and threaded as shown at 22 toreceive a spark plug and said head being watervjacketed as at 23.

In carrying out the present invention, diametrically opposite inlet andexhaust ports 24; and 25, respectively, communicate with the compressionspace 20 preferably on an approximate level with the top of the piston17 when the latter is at the outer end of its compression stroke. Thisenables carbon to be removed from the piston head and cylinder head byintroducing suitable tools or inwhich'is formed with a longitudinally'eX- 'struments through the oppositely located answer forboth.v f"Referring, for example, to. the lntake ports 24: and 25. The inlet'andexhaust valves of this invention are identical with respect to theirconstruction and operation and therefore a description of one valve willvalve, it will be observed that said valve is r tions isin the formoflaflat plate,the outer 'section- QTbeing shorter or of less verticalformed in two sections, an inner section 26 and an outer section 27.Each of said sec length than the inner -section 26 the last rnamedfsection being formed with a". port 28 theintake peace;- iv V I Thetwo sections of the {valve are mount- Which eor'1'-esponds in shape andsize with 'edito'reciprocate backand forth'side by V: tachablefrom'thejbody of the'cylinder and side inparallel ways 29 and 30containedin avalve case theinner wall of which is preferably formed bythe'cylinder casting, the outer section 31 of the valve case beingdebeingsecurely held in place by cap screws 32 or their equivalent. v

By reference'to Fig. v3 it will be noted that the-valves operate in apath which'is slightly oblique to a vertical plane, the cylin'dercasting being provided with a correspondingly inclined; machined face 337 against which the. detachable section 31 of the'valve caseis'securedto form a gas tight joint. The guide'fways 29 and 30 in which the valvesections slide up anddown are separatedby in-intervening wall or web 3 ltendingjoil duct-35: provided at'the upper V endwith a suitable oil cup36, the lower end of theduct- 35 being extended-in opposite directionsso as'to furnish lubricant to the adjacentfaces of the valve sections 26and d27-als clearly shown inthe drawings.

The means for operating the valves 'com- H prises a valve actuatingshaft 37, one ofs aid r .45

shafts beingusedat' each side'of the engine,

' one shaft serving to actuate theintake valve sections'and the othershaftservmg to'actu ate the exhaust valve sections; The lnner shaft 37.!The outer valve section 27 is con nected by a rod 41 toa strap 42encircling valve section 26 is connected bya-rod 38to a strap 39encircling an eccentric 40 on "the another eccentric'4c3 on theshaft 37.The

two eccentricstO andf413 are set at the proper degree apart; to insurethe'required timing ofthe' valve sections in thefmanner illustra'tedlinFigs. 4, 5 and 6; 'Fig. 4 the inner'and outer'valve sec- I tionsregister with theport 24, leaving said portientirely open toadmit a.charge of gas.

InFi g. 5 the inner valve section'has movedf l downwardly so as tofcarrythe port 28"out of, register 'with-theport 2 1. "In Fig. 6 the ou'tervalve" section 27 has been moved up- [65 wardly'to apoi-nt where itcloses theport 24L Therefore, in all positions except the position shownin Fig. l, elther one or the other sections of the valve entirelyobstructs and closes the'port 24:. Thus said port is opened only once ineach complete cycle of operation of the engine which in the four-cycleengine means that the intake port is opened only once 111 every tworevolutions of the crank shaft. The same construction and operation istrue with respect to the exhaust valves at the opposite side of theengine.

In order to provide for an accurate ad ust- V ment of the valve sectionswith respect to the valve shaft 37, each of the connecting rods 38 and40 is made longitudinally extensible by means of a turn buckle 44L engaing the right and left hand threaded en 5 of the sections of said rods38 and ll as clearly indicated in the drawings. This also enables agreater or less opening of the intake and exhaust ports to be obtainedin accordance with the demands of the engine.

It will also be noted that each of the detachable valve case sections 81is water j acketed as at 45 thus enabling the valve sections to bemaintained in a cool condition, preventing the same from expanding andbinding in their cases. The rods 38 and 39 are pivotally connected orjointed to their re-' spective valve sections as shown at l6 and areinclosed by easing plates or sections t7 which assist in rendering theengine noiseless in operation as they act to muflle any noise caused bylooseness or play in the joints 4G orbetween the eccentrics and strapsa0 and 39.

48 designates a plunger oil pump which operates in a pump cylinder 49communicating with the oil sump in the bottom of the crank case andoperating in conjunction with a ball check or foot valve 50, the oilbeing pumped through a distributing pipe 51 to various parts of theengine wherever needed. The piston 48 of the pump has a ointedconnection at 52 with an operating rod 53 which is actuated by aneccentric 54 on the shaft-37 thus providing for a continuousfeed ofoil'to the various working faces and parts of the engine.

a At one side the engine is provided with a magneto supporting shelf orbracket 55 while at the opposite side a similar shelf or bracket 56 isprovided for mounting the water circulating pump (not shown). Each ofthe connecting rods 19 has a detachable bottom bearing cap 57 which maybe taken off by removing the bottom nuts 58 when it. is desired todisconnect said rods from the crank shaft for the purpose of removingthelatter through the bottom of the crank case. In like manner the valveactuating shafts 87 may be removed from the upper section 1 of the crankcase by taking out the detachable bearingcaps 59 which are held inplaoe'by cap screws 60 or their equivalent.

61 and 62 designate the water inlet and outlet connections leading tothe water jacket spaces in the cylinder, cylinder head and valve cases.4

From the foregoing description it will now be seen that a practicallynoiseless internal combustion engine is produced, all spring pressedpuppet valves and the like being done away with and in lieu thereofsilently reciprocating valves being employed in which the valve sectionscounterbalance each other and operate with a minimum amount of frictionand wear. The construction also to a great extent eliminates thenecessity of taking down the engine in order to obtain access to somesmall part which in the ordinary construction of engine now in commonuse is inaccessible. Unusually generous bearings may be pro vided byreason of the construction shown and described for the crank shaft andconnecting rods and said bearings may be easily reached and the capportions thereof detached with an ordinary wrench. There are no springsor delicate parts to become broken or get out of order, the valves areoperated positively both for the intake and exhaust of the gases and allwearing surfaces are of considerable area thereby increasing the lifeand durability of the engine as a whole.

In order to still further carry out the noiseless feature of the engine,the crank shaft 9 is provided with a spiral pinion 63 which meshes witha spiral gear wheel 64 on a countershaft 65 on which are other spiralgear wheels 66 which mesh with and drive corresponding gear wheels 67fast on the ends of the two valve operating shafts 37. Spur gear wheels68 on the countershafts 37 mesh with other gear wheels 69 and 70 on thepump shaft and magneto shaft respectively for driving said pump andmagneto. All of these gears are inclrlised in an air tight gear case andrun in 01 What I claim is In an internal combustion engine, a cylinderof the T head type comprising diametrically opposite intake and exhaustchambers at the same elevation, an upwardly and inwardly inclined slidevalve in each of said chambers comprising two plate like valve membersmounted for reciprocatory movement, one of said valve members beingformed with a port and the other member being portless but adapted tocover and uncover the engine port, a plate partition between said valvemembers, a crank case having openings through the top wall thereof,valve operating shafts ,intersecting said openings, valve operatingeccentrics on said shafts, longitudinally adjustable connections betweensaid eccentrics and valve members, upwardly and inwardly sloping housingplates inclosing said openings in the top of the crank case, and drivingmeans between said valve' operating shafts and the engine crank shaft.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

TILLFRED ELMO NEEDLER.

Witnesses:

W. W. Wooneorr, MARY ELLEN RING.

Eopies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe commissioner of lE'atents, Washington, D. G.

